


The right choices

by turtles_to_the_max



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Walburga Black's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-09 12:12:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18637888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtles_to_the_max/pseuds/turtles_to_the_max
Summary: Regulus Black is leading a normal life at Hogwarts - until he finds his older brother in a passionate embrace with another boy. Being the dutiful son he is, he immediately reports it to his parents.And then he realizes just what he's condemned Sirius to.





	1. Chapter 1

Regulus Black made his way up to the Owlery, clutching his weekly letter. His parents always liked him to keep them updated on what was going on at Hogwarts, how he was doing, and what Sirius was up to. "Your father and I need you to lead the way," his mother had told him. "As your brother is denying the proud traditions of the Black household, you must step in. Can we count on you, Regulus?" Regulus had nodded, his chest puffing up with pride.

And so, every week, he had written a page-long letter to his parents, detailing what was happening in their lives. This week's letter was fairly short, as his older brother had mostly been keeping out of the way, avoiding Regulus and not doing anything to attract attention. Regulus hoped that it was a sign Sirius had undergone a change of heart, and his letter to his mother had been quite optimistic.

He rounded another corner, not really paying attention to where he was going, and nearly ran into a large marble bust. Cursing silently, he was about to walk on, when he was stopped short by the sound of voices coming from an empty classroom.

He glanced around to make sure no one was no one watching, then peered around the corner. Two boys were sitting at the back, holding hands. One's head was leaning on the other's shoulder, and they were deep in conversation. One of the boys also looked very familiar...

As Regulus watched in shock, the unknown boy said something and Sirius laughed, leaning up to kiss him.

Regulus could only stand there in disbelief as the two moved closer, their kisses deepening. So this was why Sirius had been so quiet this week. Regulus had always known that Sirius had been rebellious, but this was going much farther than Regulus had ever suspected. Their parents had always told them that it was dirty, a sin, the one thing to never do - and yet here Sirius was, in a deserted classroom,  _kissing another boy_. How could he? This was open rebellion against everything their mother had so lovingly taught them.

While Regulus watched, Sirius kissed the boy's cheek one last time and got up to leave, walking out the door - and straight into Regulus.

"Oh - hi, Reg," Sirius said, his hair dishevelled and a sheepish grin on his face. "I was just - "

"I saw everything," Regulus hissed. Shock passed over Sirius's face briefly, but then he just grinned.

"So what?" he said, leaning against the wall.

"So, it's a terrible thing to do - "

Sirius smirked. "Sorry, Reg. Do you honestly think I care? Remus and I are in love, and we don't care what Mum says about it."

"How dare you?" Regulus sputtered. "I swear, I'll - "

"Do what, Reg?" Sirius replied, raising his eyebrows. "Put me and Remus under constant supervision? Try and force us apart? Go ahead, tell anyone, see if they care."

"I - I'll tell Mum!" Regulus yelled. "She'll put a stop to it - "

"And how, exactly, are you going to contact her?" Sirius leaned relaxedly against the wall, folding his arms.

"I write every week," Regulus snarled. "She wants me to keep tabs on you! I'll be telling her, you wait - "

"Wait, what?" Sirius stood bolt upright. "You'd actually - tell her?"

"Yes, I will, if that's what it takes for you to stop this!" Regulus turned around from his pacing to glare at Sirius. 

"No! Please, Regulus!" Sirius had turned pale. "I swear, we're in love, it's not a sin, we're not hurting anyone, just stay out of it, it's - "

"Or so you say," Regulus said, glaring at him. "Mum has got to know, and I will be telling her. Don't try to change my mind." He turned to walk off.

"Regulus..." Sirius grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "Please! I'm your brother! She's never liked me - do you know what she's going to do to me if she finds out? I'll do anything - please! Remus doesn't know, it's not his fault, and it doesn't affect you, just leave us alone." His face was desperate, pleading. "All we wanted was to - "

"Mum's got to know," Regulus said coldly. He twisted out of Sirius's grip and walked away towards the Slytherin common room, ignoring his brother's desperate croak of "Regulus..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this one was pretty short but don't worry the next one will be a lot longer

Regulus paused over the addition to his letter. Was he doing the right thing? Obviously, Sirius was in the wrong, and needed to be corrected. But his face - pale and pleading, and his voice when he begged Regulus not to tell their mother, and it was true that Mum had always liked Regulus best -

No. What was he thinking? Sirius's begging him not to tell must mean that he knew he was in the wrong. It was Regulus's duty to tell their mother everything that happened with Sirius, and it would be betraying her trust to do anything else. Being in love with another boy was the ultimate defiance... Regulus bent over the parchment, quill raised.

And Sirius's face swam in front of his vision once more, imploring him for mercy, to not tell her, reminding him that they were brothers, what their mother would do to him if she found out, hair dishevelled, face as white as a sheet, desperation written all over his face...

Regulus pushed the image away. It was replaced with an image of their mother, beaming with pride at something Regulus had just done, telling him that he was her favourite son, reassuring him that it was going to be all right, that she was depending on him, that it was the right thing to do.

He was doing the right thing. Sirius deserved what he got. He made the choice to be this way, he had to face the consequences. Undoubtedly, unquestionably, this was the best thing he could do, and what his mother said was always right. In the end, it was a matter of picking his mother or his brother, and his mother always won.

Picking up his quill, Regulus began to write.

***

Several days later, Regulus was sitting at the Slytherin table, eating lunch. So far, there had been no indication that his parents had received the note, but he was sure they would get it eventually. He glanced up at the ceiling, which was light grey and snowing. It was only a week or so until Christmas break, and he hoped that something would happen before he went home; telling them in person would be a lot harder than simply writing a letter.

All of the sudden, he noticed a disturbance in the hall. A lot of the students were suddenly looking towards the staff table, pointing and whispering. Regulus followed the fingers to see his parents standing at the entrance to the Great Hall, wrapped up in coats and striding purposefully towards Dumbledore. By now, nearly all of the students had noticed and were looking up with curiosity at the two figures. 

His mother walked to the front. "We've come for our son!" she announced. A hush fell over the hall.

Sirius stood up and looked towards the Slytherin table. "Reg! They want you!"

"No," said their father coldly. "We've come for you, Sirius."

A murmur spread through the hall. Reluctantly, Sirius got to his feet and was making his way towards their parents; Regulus thought he saw the boy from earlier give his hand a quick squeeze before he went.

Regulus stood up as well, wondering whether this was related to the letter. As soon as he reached his mother, she enveloped him in a hug. "We got your letter," she murmured into his hair. "You did very well to tell us, Regulus. We'll deal with your brother from here."

Regulus nodded and made his way back to the table. Their father grabbed Sirius roughly by the arm and started dragging him out of the hall. Sirius shot Regulus one confused look of panic, before their parents disappeared out of sight, slamming the doors behind them.

The hush that had fallen over the students broke immediately. Regulus, upon sitting down again, was immediately met with a thousand requests for information. Ignoring them all, he quickly finished and ran to his room, still wondering whether he had truly done the right thing. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a) pretty short and b) pretty trash. you have been warned. thanks for reading!

"Narcissa!" Regulus leapt off the train and ran over to his grown-up cousin, who was waiting for him on platform nine-and-three-quarters. "Where are Mum and Dad?"

Narcissa shrugged. "They're busy, apparently. I'm supposed to take you home by Side-Along-Apparition."

"Busy with what?"

"No idea. Come on, let's go."

The guard beckoned them out and they stepped out into the Muggle world. It was snowing heavily, and the Muggles were bundled up tightly, heads bowed against the wind. Narcissa beckoned him into a dark corner and held out her arm; Regulus grabbed on tightly, and together they Apparated to the top step of Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

"Well, I have to go," Narcissa said, opening the door for him. "Have a nice break." With a loud  _ crack _ , she Disapparated.

When Regulus walked in the door, he saw his parents, deep in serious conversation over the table. They turned at the sound of the door opening, and his mother ran over with a cry of "Regulus!" She enfolded him in a hug. "How was your last week?"

"Normal," Regulus said, muffled by his mother's bulk. "Where's Sirius?"

His mother pulled away, her happy expression morphing into a scowl. "Your brother is in his room, reconsidering what he's been doing lately. At the moment, he is proving quite stubborn."

"About... what I wrote?" Regulus asked.

His father sighed and stood up. "Yes. Unfortunately, he is right now showing no remorse for his actions. In fact - could you talk to him?"

"Sure," Regulus replied. "Just a moment, let me put down my stuff."

After stripping off his jacket and depositing his trunk in his room, Regulus walked up the stairs to Sirius's room and knocked on the door.

"For the last time, I am not going to 'turn away from the error of my ways', Mum!" a voice yelled. "So just leave me alone - "

"Sirius, it's me, Regulus!"

"Great," said Sirius, his voice muffled. "Come to laugh at me, I suppose?"

"No," Regulus replied. "Mum sent me to talk to you."

"About what? Falling in love with someone she didn't like? Not wanting to give up on him, even after they locked me in my room for five days? Resisting when they try and drag me out to 'cure' me?"

"Don't act like it's so unfair," Regulus said. "You brought this on yourself, and you know it."

"In what way did I bring this on myself?" Sirius growled.

Regulus sighed. Did Sirius really not understand? "You chose to be in love with another boy, knowing full well our parents were - "

"NONE OF THIS WAS A CHOICE!" Sirius yelled. "I didn't choose to be this way, Regulus! Don't I have just as much right to be in love as everyone else? I didn't just suddenly decide to be gay one day and then boom, I fell in love with Remus - it doesn't work that way, no matter whatever our parents believe!"

"No," Regulus said, panicking. "You're lying. It can't be. Mum always said you would try to make me - "

"Fine," Sirius said. " _Fine_. I never expected you to understand, anyways. Go away, would you? Or did Mum send you with some other message for me? Because I don't want to hear it."

"Sirius - "

" _What_?"

"It's not too late to change your ways, you know. If you - "

There was a loud  _thud_ and the sound of something shattering against the door. "GET OUT!"

Defeated, Regulus walked downstairs again. His mother, seeing him, wrapped an arm around him. "How was your brother?"

"He didn't want to listen," Regulus said, hanging his head. 

His mother sighed. "Don't worry, dear. You tried, and that's what matters. Sometimes, that's all you can do."

"Yeah," Regulus mumbled. "But, Mum... when I was talking to him, Sirius said something... about how it wasn't him choice to be this way, and he didn't just decide to be... you know..."

"Oh, sweetie," his mother said, giving his arm a squeeze. "I'm so sorry. It's just not true. Some people choose to do wrong things, no matter what their families know is best for them. Your brother made a decision to go against what was right, and he needs to accept the responsibility for his actions. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Regulus said again, relaxing. "Thanks, Mum."

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

All through the rest of the day, Regulus kept thinking about what had happened. Though he hated himself for it, he couldn't stop wondering about what Sirius had said about it not being a choice. Was he just lying to avoid responsibility, or was Sirius lying to himself, denying that he had control over it? Or - and this chilled Regulus to the bones - might it actually not be Sirius's fault?

No. It couldn't be. Like their mother said, Sirius needed to accept the responsibility for his choice. Maybe he would try again the next day. And maybe ask about the other thing...

"Sirius?"

"What is it now?"

"You know, you do have to come out some time, you know."

"Ha ha," Sirius replied. "I've already come out. Involuntarily. Thanks to you. I hope you enjoyed ruining my life."

Regulus sighed. "I mean, the other type of coming out. Out of your room. You can't stay in there forever, you know."

"Tell that to Mum. She's the one who locked me in here until I 'see the error of my ways'."

"She... actually locked you in there?"

"All because of falling in love with someone, yes. How many times, Reg? I. Didn't. Choose. This."

"Well, I mean..." Regulus fidgeted. "You didn't have to date him..."

"But I did. Because we were in love. And we had just as much right to it as anybody else. Is that a crime now?"

"I mean, Mum always said it was. And you shouldn't have gone against her."

“Look, just - go away, would you?” Regulus could hear Sirius pacing behind the door. “I haven’t spoken to anyone remotely friendly in a week, Remus has no idea what’s happened to me, and I’ve been locked up in my room for the past five days. Leave me alone, my life is bad enough without you in it.”

Defeated, Regulus trooped back down the stairs.

***

He came back on the next day.

"Um - Sirius?"

There was an audible sigh. "You again?"

"Um. Yes. I guess."

"What do you want?"

"Well - I mean - have you actually not been let out of your room in - "

"Six days, yes."

"So - how do you - "

"Mum comes in occasionally. I manage. You don't want to know the details."

"Well - I - um - " Regulus took a deep breath. "I - wanted to say - I came to apologise."

Sirius laughed. "You _what_?"

"I wanted to say - I'm sorry. For writing the letter to Mum. You..." Regulus paused for a moment, trying to figure out out how to continue; his heart was pumping so hard he wondered that they couldn't hear him downstairs. "I don't know if it was a choice or not what you did, but you didn't deserve... you know. All this. So... I'm sorry."

"You're sorry."

"Yeah."

"Oh, that's nice." Sirius laughed again. "I'm so glad you can do a single thing to help me now, because you're _sorry_." His voice cracked on the last word. "I've been holed up in here for SIX FREAKING DAYS, and I'm bored out of my mind and starving and nearly driven crazy and it's okay, because you're _sorry_." He snorted. "So helpful, Reg. Never mind that you outed me to the most homophobic people I know, even when I BEGGED you not to, and now my entire family would rather have me dead, and I still have the bruises to show for it, that's all fine, because you're  _sorry_."

"Sirius - "

Sirius started laughing in earnest. "This is wonderful, Reg, so nice of you. You have no idea what it's like to be the least favourite son, do you? You wrote that letter to Mum, knowing full well what she'd do to me, you said nothing as they dragged me out of the only place where I could be happy because my ENTIRE FAMILY hates me, you didn't care when you heard what they did to me, you've stood here trying to convert me into the perfect son Mum always wanted - did you know that Mum told me she'd rather have me dead then a blemish on this family? Fun fact - and now you're standing here trying to convince me you're  _sorry_?" He giggled. "That's rich. This whole thing is so hilarious, Reg. Really? You're sorry? It's a nice effort on your part, but honestly, I've reached the point where I'd rather be dead than like this, and sorry just doesn't cut it." He let out a laugh that turned into a sort of half-sob, half-snarl. 

"Sirius, please - "

"GET OUT!" Sirius spat suddenly. "Haven't you ruined my life enough already, Regulus? GET OUT!"

Regulus took a deep breath and let it out again. He had been expecting Sirius to react like this, but it still stung. Was there any way he could convince Sirius that he had really changed? Probably not. But still, it was worth another try.

He knocked on the door. "Um - Sirius?"

"What now?" Sirius growled.

"Is there any way I can - do something to help you? To make this any better?"

"Can you travel back in time and not write that letter to Mum? Can you prevent Remus and me from ever falling in love? Heck, can you go back and edit my DNA so that I was never gay in the first place?"

Regulus trooped back down the stairs.

***

The routine was getting familiar by now: walk up the stairs, knock on Sirius's door, try to talk to Sirius, get rejected, walk back down the stairs.

Regulus knocked on Sirius's door.

"Hello, Regulus." Sirius's tone was bored, almost apathetic. "What now?"

"I have something for you." Regulus clutched the papers in his hand more tightly.

Sirius sighed. "Great. Why should I care?"

"It's important."

"And I should care - why?"

"Please. Just - trust me. I swear, you'll want to see it."

Another sigh. "Fine. Can you slide it under the door?"

Regulus tried. The papers crumpled. "I can't, it's too thick."

"Too bad, then, I guess you won't be able to - "

" _Alohomora!_ "

"That doesn't work. Trust me, I've tried."

The lock clicked. Regulus twisted the handle. The door opened.

"You were saying?" He stepped inside, and Regulus stood face-to-face with his brother for the first time in two weeks.

Sirius looked terrible. His face was pale and hollow, with deep bags under his eyes, and his hair was matted and oily, presumably from not having been washed in seven days. A fresh bruise was forming on his cheek, and there were several fading ones on his forehead and chin. 

"Hello there," Sirius said, smiling wryly. "It's been a while. How did you unlock the door?"

"Guess Mum forgot to put the anti-Alohomora charm on the other side," Regulus replied. "Anyways, I brought these..." He held out the papers in his hand.

Sirius took the papers and stared at them for a moment. "Regulus... are these..."

"Your boyfriend's letters, yes," Regulus said, grinning at Sirius. "One for every day you've been gone. Mum kept them locked in her cupboard, I only just managed to smuggle them out before she burned them. Your owl's going mad."

Sirius was staring at the letters with a sort of delighted incredulity on his face. He took the top one and flattened it out, scanning the page eagerly. He was quiet for a while, just reading and setting down each letter in turn, looking happier with each one.

Eventually, Regulus cleared his throat. "You're welcome..."

"What?" Sirius said, emerging from his reading. "Oh, yeah. Thanks, Reg... this is amazing. I haven't been this..." He cleared his throat. "Anyways. Could you keep bringing these? I mean, if Remus does keep writing, you know." He blushed a little. 

Footsteps echoed up the stairway, and both brothers glanced towards the the half-open door.

"Crap - gotta go," Regulus said. He ran out of Sirius's bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He ducked behind a doorway, but not fast enough; his mother, who had been coming up the stairs, spotted him and headed over in his direction.

"Regulus?" she said, and for the first time Regulus wasn't comforted by the sound of her voice. "What are you doing up here?"

"Oh - yeah," Regulus said. "Just - trying to talk to Sirius again, you know..."

His mother sighed. "Oh, sweetie - I know it's hard, but sometimes you just have to accept a lost cause. It's sweet of you to try, but your brother is just too far gone." She wrapped an arm around Regulus, squeezing him tightly, and it was all Regulus could do to not wriggle out of her grasp. "At least I still have you..." She smiled down at him.

 _If only you_ _knew_ , Regulus thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting sooner - this turned out to be really long, so I split it into another chapter. To add to it, I sprained my thumb, so typing was slow. Thanks again for reading, I hope you enjoyed. :)

The boy next to Regulus glanced nervously around as they crept up the stairs together. "He's really been in there for..."

"Ten days, yes." Regulus led the way up to Sirius's room and rapped three times on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock," Sirius yelled from inside, "all I hear in my head is knock, knock, knock! What the heck, Reg? You'll be asking me if I wanna build a freaking snowman next!"

The boy next to Regulus laughed quietly. Regulus made a shushing motion; he wanted this to be a surprise.

" _Alohomora!"_ The lock clicked; luckily, their mother had still forgotten to use the charm on the other side of the door.

He pushed the door open. "Sirius, there's someone here to see you."

Sirius looked around suspiciously. "Someone here to see me? Who is there, except for - " He spotted the boy. "Remus?"

The boy smiled shyly, giving Sirius a small wave. "Hi."

Sirius just stood in shock for a moment.

And then, in one motion, the two boys rushed towards each other. Sirius flew into the boy's arms, and the boy was clutching him tightly back, and they were hugging each other and crying and the boy was murmuring words into Sirius's ear, and Sirius was nodding and crying even harder, and they were collapsing onto one of the chairs with their arms still locked around each other and Sirius looked happier than Regulus had ever seen him before.

Somewhat awkwardly, Regulus walked over and closed the door. It was still uncomfortable for him to see Sirius like this with another boy; how had he escaped everything their mother had shoved down their throats?

By the time he turned back, Sirius and the boy had separated somewhat, though they were still squeezed together on the same chair.

"I was so worried," the boy was murmuring to Sirius. "Your brother told me you had been locked up here, and I was panicking about you for the entire last week - are you okay? Oh, god, Sirius... I was so scared..."

"Yeah," Sirius replied, smiling a little. "I'm fine... but - wait!" He pulled away, looking suddenly scared. "How do I know you're not just Mum using Polyjuice Potion or something? Prove it!"

The boy leaned over and whispered something in Sirius's ear. Sirius snorted.

"Yep, definitely you," he said, relaxing. "But I didn't know your mind was even capable of producing thoughts like that, Remus. For heaven's sake, there are children present!" Sirius gestured towards Regulus, grinning.

The boy smirked. "Hence, the whispering."

As the two joked together, Regulus turned away. It was unnerving to see Sirius like this, so relaxed and happy around someone else, gay in both senses of the word, and completely, obviously, head-over-heels in love with another boy. Somehow, amidst their mother's warnings, their father's threats, their family's corrupted legacy, Sirius had found love, and it made Regulus feel a little lonely.

All of the sudden, the boy pulled away and sat up, running a finger along Sirius's bruises. "Sirius... I never noticed this. Did they - "

Sirius shrugged him off. "It's not that bad. I've had worse. Don't worry about it."

"But - "

"This is mostly from earlier. By now we've mostly reached an impasse. It's fine, I've had a lot worse before." Sirius sighed, evidently not noticing that the boy's hands were clenched into fists.

"Sirius," the boy said, quietly but with a steely note in his voice, "who gave you these?"

Sirius shrugged. "Most of them were my mum's doing. My dad gave me this one - " he touched a large bruise on the edge of his chin " - and the one on my forehead, but otherwise it was her."

"Well, then," the boy said, standing up, "don't tell me where she is right now."

"...why?"

"Because," the boy replied, "I'm not quite ready to go to Azkaban for murder yet."

Sirius stared at the boy for a moment, then his face split into a grin. "Well, then. Didn't know you were so violent-minded, Remus." The boy laughed, squeezing Sirius's hand.

"Normally not," he said, "but no one messes with my boyfriend and gets away with it. Anyways - "

"Anyways, I'm right here if you want to murder me, but I wouldn't advise it, young man." The door burst open, revealing their mother, her wand pointing straight at Remus and an expression of cold fury on her face.

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

"I knew it," their mother hissed. "I knew it. Did you think I ever let my guard down for one second? And it turned out I was right... _Expelliarmus!_ " With a clatter, three wands soared across the room and landed at her feet; Regulus dove behind the chair before she could spot him.

Their mother walked closer to Remus, kicking their wands to the side. "Well, what have we here? A boy, in my oldest son's room... possibly the same boy my younger son wrote to me about?"

Sirius's terrified expression was all the proof their mother needed. She pointed her wand at Sirius, beckoning to him.

Sirius swallowed and walked towards his mother with an expression akin to a man headed for the gallows. Their mother put her wandtip against Sirius's throat. "Now, you're going to answer a few questions for me, sweetie. And don't you even think about lying. Is that clear?"

Sirius nodded mutely. Remus tensed up, and Regulus had to lean further out from behind the chair to see.

"So," she said, pacing around Sirius, " _how did you get this boy in here?_ "

"I - " Sirius swallowed. "Reductor charm. On the door. I snuck out while you were sleeping and - brought him here. He didn't know anything, I swear."

Regulus looked up to see that his mother's eyes were narrowed into slits. "So, why did I not hear a noise?"

Sirius's eyes flashed wildly. "Um - Silencing Charm. Please, Mum - "

"So," their mother said, her lip curling, "kindly explain how you managed all these complex spells when I replaced your wand with a useless stick."

" _What?_ " Sirius's eyes widened in horror. "You - you took my - no - they - I - please, Mum, it wasn't - "

Their mother slapped him around the face. "Silence!" Sirius winced and stayed quiet; from behind the chair, Regulus heard the boy inhale sharply.

"And, I don't believe _you_ " - she jabbed a finger at Remus, who jumped - "could have gotten in all by yourself. So..." She lifted her wand. " _Homenum revelio!_ "

A swish of cold air passed over Regulus. His mother gave a shriek of triumph and dragged him out from behind the chair - and froze.

"Regulus?" she croaked. "No. How? Darling, did your brother make you do this? Please, sweetie... it was all a trick of your brother's, wasn't it, him and that boy... please, darling, say it wasn't your fault..."

Regulus hesitated. He could say that yes, Sirius had threatened him into doing it, that he had been forced into it, that he still was loyal to the Black legacy. His mother would still love him, his relatives would still talk to him, he would be safe. One word was all it took. But that one word would mean terrible punishment for Sirius...

_"Please, I swear, we're in love, it's not a sin, we're not hurting anyone..."_

_"Sweetie, some people just choose to do wrong things..."_

_"None of this was a choice... now my entire family wants me dead, and I still have the bruises to show for it..."_

_"Your brother is too far gone... at least I still have you, Regulus..."_

_"Honestly, I've reached the point where I'd rather be dead than like this..."_

"NO!" Regulus yelled, and everyone turned to stare at him.

His mother put an arm on his shoulder. "What were you saying, sweetie?"

Regulus took a deep breath. "I - it wasn't a trick."

"Sorry, what?"

"I did this of my own free will. Sirius was right. It wasn't a choice... and you just locked him up for it." Regulus turned to look his mother in the eyes. "So no. This was all my fault. Sirius didn't even want me to do this."

His mother let go of him in shock. "Regulus... I never... how could you?"

Regulus shrugged. "Common sense. Also, a couple of brotherly conversations, I guess..."

His mother screamed, turning back to Sirius."This is all your fault! My little Regulus! You corrupted him, you turned him against me, you... you..." Words seemed to fail her and she simply stood there, heaving with anger, glaring down at him.

And then she reached back and slapped him with all her strength across the face.

Sirius staggered, clutching his cheek. His mother grabbed Sirius by the shoulder and pulled him upright again, Sirius still whimpering.

"I always knew this was coming," she snarled. "But I never thought you'd drag your brother down with you. Regulus, go to your room. Sirius..." She raised her wand. "I regret it, but it has to be done. _Sec_ \- "

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Everyone looked around.

The boy had flung himself in front of Sirius, arms outstretched as if to shield him. "Please," he panted, "listen. It was all my doing."

"What are you - "

"Remus, please - "

"Shut up!" their mother barked. "I don't know what you think you're doing, young man, but if you - "

"It was all my fault," Remus repeated. "I fell in love with your son first, I made him do everything, he didn't really want to. I was the one that forced him into it."

"Remus, no, I - "

Remus shot Sirius a look. "When I didn't hear from him, I thought I needed to see him. He didn't want me here, but I made him agree to it. I threatened his brother into helping me."

"No, he didn't - " Sirius protested.

"Yes, I did," Remus said. "I threatened his brother into helping me, and then I snuck up here to see him. I still had my wand - I unlocked the door and got in here while you were sleeping."

"Interesting theory," their mother said. "And yet he's been insisting for ten days that 'Remus and I are in love, and there's nothing you can do about it'?"

Sirius gulped. Remus looked first shocked, then flattered for a moment, then panicked. "Because - because - he's been Confunded!"

"He's been Confunded." Their mother folded her arms.

"Ye - yes," Remus said, ignoring Sirius's silent protests. "I - I wanted him to fall in love with me - so I Confunded him. And I guess it worked... a little too well."

Their mother nodded slowly, and Regulus's heart constricted in panic - was she actually believing this? Sirius was going through the same thing, from the look of it, but the boy turned around and murmured something to him; Sirius fell silent, though still looking troubled.

"Yeah," Remus said. He turned to face Sirius. "Sirius - I love you." (Regulus was under the impression that it was the first true thing he had said ever since his mother came in.) He turned back towards their mother. "And I swear - everything that he's done - it's all my fault. Please, whatever you'd do to Sirius - do it to me. I - " Remus looked back at Sirius and swallowed. "I'm the one who actually deserves it."

"Remus! No!" Sirius grabbed Remus by the shoulders, pulling him around. "I never - "

"As you can see," Remus repeated, blinking hard, "I might have Confunded him a little too well.  So..." He spread his arms. "I'm ready."

"Very well," their mother said, her lips tightening into a thin line. "Regulus - I told you, go to your room. Sirius - you stay here. You, boy..." She lifted her wand and made a slashing motion. Remus crumpled.

So did Sirius. Falling to his knees next to Remus, he cradled his still body, face contorted in a silent howl.

Their mother snorted. "No need to be like that, I didn't kill him. Now, you're - Regulus, didn't I tell you to go to your room?"

"But, Mum - "

"OUT!"

Regulus walked back down the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

Regulus paced his room for the hundredth time, wishing for more information. Ever since his mother had kicked him out of Sirius's room, he had gotten nothing on where Remus had gone (although he had a horrible suspicion about that) how much of the blame his mother had still laid on Sirius (although he suspected not much; somehow, their mother had been completely convinced by Remus's explanation) and what Sirius was up to now (although he suspected also not much, as there wasn't much noise coming from Sirius's room lately).

The last two days had been incredibly tedious. Somehow, his mother had decided he was innocent of the whole thing and allowed him free range of the house, though he chose to mostly spend the time in his room in case she changed her mind. As far as he knew, Sirius had never emerged from his room except to eat; whether this was forced or voluntary, Regulus had no idea. The few times he had tried to knock, Sirius had been irritable and his answers minimal, always sounding like he had a bad head-cold. As for Remus - Regulus couldn't know where he was, what they were doing to him, or even whether he was living or dead.

And so the tedium began, pacing his room endlessly, wondering about the others, trying to confirm his theories through careful (and usually fruitless) observation, and occasionally climbing the stairs to get rejected by Sirius. If only he had some way to know what was going on, to get reliable information, to learn what had happened to Remus without his mother suspecting...

And then it hit him. How had he not thought of it earlier? The only problem was that he might tell their mother, but that was easily solved.

“KREACHER!”

The house-elf appeared with a loud _crack_ at Regulus’s feet. “Master Regulus?”

“Okay, Kreacher,” Regulus said, staring down at the house-elf. “I am going to ask you some questions - and I order you to answer them truthfully. Do you understand?”

Kreacher bowed low. “Yes, Master Regulus.”

Regulus paused for a moment, figuring out how to word his questions so that they wouldn’t seem suspicious; Kreacher was still loyal to his mother, and would report anything he heard if it sounded like Regulus was on Sirius's side. "What happened to my brother?"

Kreacher shrugged. "Kreacher does not know, Master Regulus. Ever since the traitor boy corrupted Master Sirius, he has not left his room as far as Kreacher knows."

"That's fine," Regulus said, sighing. He hadn't been expecting much else, anyways. "Do you know where the boy who, um, corrupted Sirius went?"

Kreacher nodded.

"Where is he?"

Kreacher bowed once again, his nose nearly touching the carpet. "All Kreacher knows is that Mistress Black ordered Kreacher to take the traitor boy down to the basement."

Regulus almost fell over onto the bed. "The... the basement? Like, the very bottom floor?"

Kreacher nodded again. "That is what 'the basement' means, Master Regulus."

"Okay," Regulus said, trying to keep his breathing steady. "You've done well, Kreacher." Realizing something, he sat up. "Oh - and I forbid you to tell my mother about this."

Kreacher bowed one last time and disappeared with a _crack_.

Regulus slumped down again, burying his head in his hands. This was the worst possible scenario, one that he had always known could happen but had pushed to the back of his mind. He had only been down on the bottom floor a few times in his life, but he remembered it being very dark, very wet, very cold, and very rat-infested; Sirius had once sent him down there for fifteen minutes on a dare and he still had the occasional nightmare. It had doubled as a dungeon back in the medieval ages, but it had been out of use for centuries; Regulus shuddered to think what would happen to Remus down there.

He got up and began pacing again. Who knew how long Remus would be locked in the basement and what he was going through even now, having spent two days in that place. He couldn't stay down there for something that wasn't his fault, he just couldn't, not without any help from anyone. And Sirius was still presumably locked in his room, unable to do anything...

He realized what had to be done.

 _Here we go_ _again_ , Regulus thought, plodding down the stairs.

***

The basement was just as dark and wet as Regulus remembered. He clung to a damp wall as he walked, trying in vain to make out anything through the gloom. From the opposite side of the room, he could hear the little scurrying noises and squeaks of the rats as they undoubtedly noticed the intruder in their midst. Pushing all his worst nightmares away, he slowly made his way to the opposite side.

"Remus?"

There was a startled noise from the other side of the basement. "Wha - who's there?"

"Um. You probably don't remember me. Where are you?"

"Over here," the hoarse voice called. "Why are you - "

"Never mind that," Regulus called, making his way towards the source of the voice. Reluctantly, he let go of the wall and wandered out into the gloom, feeling his way blindly towards where he thought the sound had come from. He was about to give up and ask the boy to call out again, when he bumped into something solid.

It was the other wall. He followed it for a while before bumping into something else solid, warm this time.

"Um - hi," the boy's voice said. "Could you get off my leg?"

"Sorry," Regulus said. He sat down next to the boy, wincing a little as his legs touched the damp ground. "So... you probably don't remember much of me, but I'm Regulus."

"Sirius's brother?" The boy's voice took on a more hopeful tone.

Regulus sighed. "Yep. That's me."

"Is he okay?"

As much as it was annoying, Regulus did have to grudgingly admire the boy: stuck in this awful place, presumably starving, not having seen daylight in over two days, and still managing to care more about Sirius than himself; either he was really selfless, or just completely head-over-heels in love with his brother. "He's fine."

"And why are you here, then?"

"Um. Mostly to check on you, I guess? And... to talk. And try and maybe get you out of this, somehow."

"Okay."

There was an awkward silence for a while, then the boy spoke up again. "This might seem weird, but... what time of day is it?"

Of course, Regulus realized with a start, the boy would have no idea what time it was, being stuck in the darkness for two days. "About three."

"Morning or afternoon?"

"Afternoon."

They fell into silence again, their breathing and the skittering of the ever-present rats echoing off the walls.

Eventually, Regulus spoke up. "Do you regret what you did?"

"What, falling in love with Sirius? Never."

"No. I mean... the other thing. When you lied to my mum about what you did."

There was a pause for a moment, then "No."

"So... would you do it again if you had the choice?"

"Every time."

"Why?"

This time, there was a longer pause.

"I guess... I thought he'd already gone through enough," the boy said slowly. "And I thought... if I get the blame, then whatever, his family was always going to hate me anyways. But if he gets the blame..." He sighed. "I've seen your mother when she gets angry. I've seen the bruises on Sirius's face. He tries to say it's fine, but it's not. And if she thinks he corrupted you, too, then..." Regulus could feel the boy tensing up next to him. "I can't just stand back and watch him suffer, all because of me. Like I said, I'm the one who actually deserves it."

"Oh."

They lapsed back into silence.

"So, um, Remus..."

"Yeah?"

"What do you see in him?"

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm biased, because I'm his brother and all, but why?"

"Okay, this will take a while." Regulus could hear the smile in the boy's voice, which had taken on a dreamy quality. "First of all, he's - "

"Actually, never mind."

"What?"

"I changed my mind. There is no way I'm hearing my brother's boyfriend wax on about how great he is. I don't know what I was thinking, I'm sorry."

Remus laughed. "Fair enough."

There was another awkward silence.

Then Regulus realized he had completely forgotten to mention the one thing he had come for. "Are you okay?"

"Define 'okay'."

"I mean... what's happened to you?"

"It hasn't been to bad, all things considered. I woke up in here a long time ago - "

"Two days?"

"If you say so. I woke up in here and nothing's happened since. Where am I, anyways?”

Regulus explained.

"So," the boy said when Regulus had finished, "to paraphrase, I'm only a few floors away from Sirius right now?"

"That's the first thing you... I can't even... why would you... yeah, that's about right."

They sat in silence for a while longer.

"It just occurred to me," the boy said out of nowhere, "that you could try and strangle me now and there would be nothing I could do about it."

"Yeah... although I've had plenty of opportunity to kill you so far, so you'd think I have done it already if I wanted to."

"I guess."

"But you'd be wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"Just kidding."

"Oh. Good."

There was another pause. 

Eventually, the boy spoke up again.  "Is Sirius okay?"

"You already asked that."

"Right. Sorry, sometimes I worry more about him that I do myself..."

"Look, do you  _want_ me to strangle you?"

"Sorry."

There was another long silence.

Suddenly, the basement door creaked open. Both boys jumped, Regulus nearly blinded by the small sliver of light after so long in such a dark place.

His mother's form was silhouetted against the doorway. She shut the door behind her and Regulus could hear her heavy footsteps echoing across the basement. "You! Boy!"

"Wha - what?" Remus's tone had switched to decidedly more scared. 

There was the  _clink_ of a plate against the floor. "First of all: food. No point in starving you for much longer."

"You never told me they didn't feed you!" Regulus hissed - and realized his mother wouldn't know he was there.

"Who was that?" His mother stormed over to where Regulus was. " _Lumos_!"

From the glare of the wandtip, Regulus could make out the disbelief on his mother's face, and her expression turning to rage as she looked between him and Remus. "No! Now you're even corrupting my second son - how dare you - you - " She raised her wand.

The reaction was instinctive; Regulus grabbed his wand and pointed it straight at his mother. " _Stupefy!_ "

Regulus could see the shock written on his mother's face before the jet of red light hit her and she keeled over, unconscious.

The boy leaned over and examined her. "Is she really unconscious?"

"I think so," Regulus said. "Which means..."

"What?"

"There's no one to prevent you from leaving now."

***

They climbed the steps to Sirius's room together for what Regulus hoped was the last time.

He knocked on Sirius's door. "Sirius?"

"What is it now?"

"Remus and I have everything arranged. How fast can you pack your stuff?"

"Um - probably ten minutes. Why - "

"Perfect," Regulus said, the blood pounding through his veins. "Get everything together - quickly, before Mum wakes up. We're leaving, and we're never coming back."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo and we're finally done! it's been fun. hope you enjoyed!


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